KORUS Withdraw Would Harm Pork Producers

Iowa State University says pork prices could fall by nearly five dollars per-animal if the U.S. withdraws from the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement, known as KORUS. President Donald Trump suggested the action over the weekend, but the administration has backed away from those claims this week. National Hog Farmer magazine reports that if KORUS is terminated, the United States likely will lose the South Korean pork market to the European Union, Chile and other countries that have preferential trade access to the Asian nation. Terminating the deal, Iowa State University economists say, would drop live hog prices by 3.8 percent, or $4.71 per animal. South Korea is a valuable trade partner for U.S. pork, making it the number five export market. KORUS is the second largest U.S. free trade agreement, eliminating tariffs on 95% of consumer and industrial products.